taiiku no hi

"We parked our car and walked along a dusty path to a big sports field by a factory. Exciting music (usually Opfenback's 'Heaven and Hell,' as it is the most popular in sports festivals all over Japan) was played. Sometimes gun signals sounded. Everyone sat on grass mats under tents, laughing and cheering. There were some booths of yaki-tori (teriyaki-chicken on a bamboo stick), spun sugar, and beverages scattered around the field. It looked like a picnic.

"Most of the races were among teams, each of which consisted of employees of a branch office. According to the results of each race, the teams placing first through third gained some points. The president would give prizes to the winning team. Middle managers, including my father, encouraged younger employees, while they enjoyed their sake together. For young employees, undÇ-kai was an opportunity to show aspects of themselves which are not apparent in their daily lives in the office.

"But that stuff was none of my business. It was the kids' races that I was interested in. I waited and waited until the voice from the speakers called the children. I ran onto the field with the other children. We ran around there to get a big bag of snacks and toys. Unfortunately, while I was behind a bunch of kids, the bigger bags went into other kids' hands. Every child, however, got at least a small bag. I got a small toy helicopter which I can remember to this day. I played with it while we went home. At the end of every undÇ-kai, we were tired from all the fun."

	Document Revision: by easc@indiana.edu